Volume One: The Infernal Lord's World Chapter 73: Taking a Gamble

Watching the corpse-eating vine leave, Chen Gu’s heart was on edge as well.

He was, in truth, gambling—betting that Crow’s Nest City, like Silverpine Valley, had already been sealed off. He wagered that the swarms of mosquitoes above the Rotting Marsh, the monstrous insects beneath the ground, and even the serpent-ball he had yet to encounter, were all means by which Crow’s Nest City enforced its blockade.

If that were the case, then the Elven Queen who could seal the city would surely be able to lift the ban as well. Perhaps, he thought, he could even claim an intact Crow’s Nest City for himself.

After sending out the corpse-eating vine, Chen Gu didn’t linger near the Rotting Marsh to await results. Instead, he had the vine bring back the spoils from this expedition.

The corpse-eating vine possessed the ability to devour enemies. This time, beneath the marsh, it had consumed not only those strange insects but also a number of peculiar things. Among them were the corpses of wolf-headed, man-bodied soldiers, and some lizard remains. Most of these were digested by the vine, but there were always some indigestible things spat out.

For instance, the mandibles of those monstrous insects.

At first, Chen Gu thought these were some form of bone. But upon closer examination, he discovered they were not bone at all, but some kind of mineral. Perhaps these strange insects were used for tunneling or mining underground.

Gazing at the corpse-eating vines clustered around him, a new idea occurred to Chen Gu.

[Corpse-Eating Vine] + [Drill Worm Mandible] = [??? (Success Rate 71%)]

Seeing such a high chance of success, he nodded in satisfaction. It seemed these so-called drill worms truly were compatible with the corpse-eating vines.

Chen Gu tried synthesizing one as a test.

The result was, unexpectedly, still a corpse-eating vine, but it had gained a new biting skill. Two of its tendrils had transformed—no longer ending in blossoms, but in the drill worm’s mandibles. Looking at this, Chen Gu understood at last why a new biting skill had appeared.

[Pet Attributes]

Name: Corpse-Eating Vine (Mutated)

Quality: Green

Type: Active Plant

Trait: Carrion Feeder

Level: 3

Attributes: Attack 8, Defense 4, Health 300

Initial Skills: Underground Movement Level 2, Corpse Feeding Level 2, Devour Level 2, Mist Pollen Level 2, Bite Level 1 (Bites enemies from two different directions, inflicting double damage)

Description: The corpse-eating vine, having altered its course, no longer considers devouring its sole instinct.

The change in the corpse-eating vine astonished Chen Gu. He had never expected that the drill worm’s mandibles could so greatly influence the vine’s very nature. Clearly, the drill worms were an extraordinary species. If he could capture a few alive, he was certain he could synthesize even better pets.

For now, though, Chen Gu had only a handful of drill worm mandibles and some hide. The corpse-eating vine had not regurgitated anything else of value from the drill worms.

However, the vine had consumed plenty of the buried corpses underground. Before Chen Gu now lay an assortment of lizard eyes, werewolf skulls, and aurochs hides.

With time on his hands, Chen Gu began experimenting with synthesis using his own subordinates.

He soon discovered that his pet system was at odds with the beasts of the marsh. Most combinations had a success rate of only around 45% to 47%. That alone might have been tolerable, but the resulting attributes were unimpressive.

Given this, Chen Gu decided it was more worthwhile to let his subordinates level up through combat than to pursue such synthesis. Most of the materials and failed synthesized beasts were ultimately fed to the Vine Carriage.

This improved the Vine Carriage’s level considerably, and its appearance changed as well. Where once it was clearly made of vines—with even the wheels woven from them—it had now been fortified: the wheels were wrapped in lizard hide, the carriage body in aurochs hide, and the front was studded with a row of lizard eyes, capable of petrifying any foe they stared at.

To maximize the petrification effect, Chen Gu had used everything available—a row of over thirty eyes. Even if only a tenth worked, it could still be fatal to an enemy.

In addition, werewolf skulls were mounted at the rear. Though they had little practical use, when the carriage sped along, they emitted eerie howls, intended to frighten off nearby threats. Whether effective or not, the sound was certainly unnerving.

In this fashion, Chen Gu’s Vine Carriage was transformed, advancing from level 3 to level 5. Its carrying capacity for both people and goods increased noticeably.

Next, Chen Gu considered that it was time to prepare draft animals for his carriage.

Though the carriage could move on its own, to an observer, its motion without beasts of burden was distinctly uncanny. Even a false coachman would have been an improvement.

As Chen Gu pondered what to do about the carriage, an angry roar erupted once more from the direction of the Rotting Marsh.

At the same time, he saw clouds of red, blue, and green gas billowing into the sky. As the gases surged upward, they rapidly condensed into rain, falling to the ground nearby.

Sensing danger, Chen Gu leapt onto the carriage at once. His subordinates scrambled to follow, retreating along the path they had come.

Chen Gu’s carriage raced ahead. Behind them, the sky changed color, and strange rain began to fall—each droplet a bizarre, potent energy fluid. The trees struck by red rain were instantly charred black; blue rain froze them solid in seconds; the dark green rain dissolved them entirely.

Chen Gu’s heart tightened at this sight. He had no desire to be touched by any of these deadly rains.

He drove the carriage on at full speed. But after covering some distance, he sensed something was wrong—the way ahead was shrouded in thick, white mist.

“Head east—go around it. If that fails, go underground,” Chen Gu ordered without hesitation.

The Vine Carriage immediately altered course as directed.

Chen Gu spared a glance behind. From the white mist, a horde of skeleton soldiers in tattered armor and wraiths was surging forth, charging straight towards Crow’s Nest City.

In that instant, Chen Gu understood—these were the undead armies of a nearby necropolis, lying in wait for just such an opportunity. They, too, had been watching Crow’s Nest City, and when the city showed signs of upheaval, they had struck at once.

Such a perfect opportunity filled Chen Gu with reluctant envy. There was certainly more to this than met the eye.

Seeing all this, Chen Gu made a swift decision.

“Turn around. We’re going back!”